Officers identified in Fredericton shooting

Const. Robb Costello and Const Sara Burns were shot and killed in the line of duty Friday morning in Fredericton. (FREDERICTON POLICE / Herald composite)

The city of Fredericton is mourning the shooting deaths of two police officers and two civilians.

A 48-year-old Fredericton man is in custody after the Friday morning shootings in the city’s residential north end.

“This is the worst moment for any chief of police in any police agency, to have to deliver this news,” Fredericton police Chief Leanne Fitch said at an afternoon news conference.

“It has been a very difficult day for our officers and residents of our fine city as we come to terms with the violent deaths of four of our people.”

Fitch identified the fallen police officers as Const. Robb Costello, 45, a 20-year veteran of the Fredericton force, and Const. Sara Burns, 43, who had been with the force for two years and was an auxiliary officer for two years before that. Police did not identify the civilian victims but a relative said Donnie Robichaud, 42, and a father of three was one of those killed. The identity of the fourth victim, a woman, has not been confirmed.

Costello, 45, was a 20-year police veteran with four children, while Burns, 43, had been an officer for two years and was married with three children.

Costello was from Sussex, N.B., and trained as a police officer at Holland College in Prince Edward Island. He leaves behind a common-law partner and four children. Burns is survived by her husband and three children.

Jackie McLean, Costello’s spouse, told the Canadian Press that the officer loved his work.

“He is the only police officer who I have ever known who could write someone a ticket and have the person thank them after,” McLean said.

“He used to always say to me that it did not matter what happened, that he would always come home and this is the first day that he has not.”

Sean Callahan described Robichaud, his cousin, as a loving father and friend who played bass and sang in a few local bands, worked in autobody shops, enjoyed riding his Harley Davidson and was the kind of guy who was always there to lend a hand.

Deputy Chief Martin Gaudet said police responded to reports of shots fired outside the apartment buildings in the 200 block of Brookside Drive at about 7:10 a.m.

Police found a man and a woman shot at the scene and set up a perimeter and a lockdown of the area, he said.

“Officers engaged with a suspect and shots were fired by police,” Gaudet said. He said police forced entry into an apartment at about 9:30 a.m. and arrested the suspect.

The suspect was taken to Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital in Fredericton, where he was being treated for serious injuries.

The hospital tweeted at 11:06 a.m. Friday that it was treating multiple victims of the shooting, but health authority officials said Saturday that only the suspect was being treated.

The shootings occurred in the Nashwaaksis area of the city of 60,000, north of the downtown district and the St. John River that snakes through the middle of town.

Residents in the Brookside Drive area have said they heard shots fired at about 7 a.m. The shootings occurred in a block of four low-rise apartment buildings on Brookside behind the Tim Hortons outlet on Douglas Avenue, just south of Highway 105.

Tim Morehouse, a resident of the neighbourhood, told the Canadian Press he was in his apartment when he heard someone shout: “Shut up! Shut up!”

Morehouse said he heard two gunshots, and then three more. He said he looked out his window and saw the body of a man on the ground in the parking lot.

“I hear more shots and looked out and there’s two police officers on the ground,” he said. “I called 911 and they came and checked on them and they were shot.”

A 64-year-old woman who lives on Douglas Avenue said she woke up to sirens at 6:45 a.m. She didn’t think anything of it at first, but then she heard gunshots.

“And then gunfire was going off all the time,” said the woman, who didn't want to be identified. “It was like they were right in my parking lot.”

After ambulances, RCMP and an emergency response team truck came in, she said she knew it was an ongoing issue.

“My adrenalin was going like a bat out of hell. I was just absorbing the whole thing,” she said, noting her cat also knew something was wrong.

With her building under lockdown, she headed to her bedroom for a couple of hours, until it was over.

Police officers survey the area of a shooting in Fredericton, N.B. on Friday. (KEITH MINCHIN / The Canadian Press)

Marlene Donavan, 57, lives in a former family home that has been converted into an apartment building, next door to the site of the shooting.

“It shook me up very much,” Donavan said. “I deal with panic attacks so this wasn't a good thing, especially when I was still in bed and heard the gunshots go off.”

Donavan said she heard three shots at about 8 a.m.

“But it started before then,” she said.

Donavan said her sister, Sharon, lives upstairs and had heard gunshots about an hour earlier. Donavan said she had already received a call from her husband Jim, who had left earlier.

“He said the street was all blocked off with cops. He said don't go out, there's something going on next door. Make sure the door is locked and don't go to the door, not matter who is at the door.”

Donavan said she has lived in her apartment for nearly four years and that the area is very peaceful. She's witnessed some parties in the building next door but nothing out of the ordinary.

“I'm still timid about going out,” she said at 3 p.m. “I recognize that they caught the person and he is in the hospital.

“I'll be staying here. It is a real shock but I'll get calmed down.”

The Tim Hortons outlet on Douglas Avenue and a nearby GoodLife Fitness gym were locked down after the shootings. Employees answering calls in both businesses said they were following company policies to sit tight and not comment to media.

Police advised in a tweet at 11:04 a.m. that there was no longer a threat to the public and lockdowns were no longer required.

Police had earlier advised residents in the area to stay indoors, lock down their homes and not reveal their location or the location of police officers on social media.

The Tim Hortons outlet on Douglas Avenue and a nearby GoodLife Fitness gym were locked down after the shootings. Employees answering calls in both businesses said they were following company policies to sit tight and not comment to media.

Police advised in a tweet at 11:04 a.m. that there was no longer a threat to the public and lockdowns were no longer required.

Police had earlier advised residents in the area to stay indoors, lock down their homes and not reveal their location or the location of police officers on social media.

Mayor Mike O'Brien extended sympathy to the families of the four dead.

“Protecting us today, they gave their lives,” O’Brien said of Costello and Burns. “It is our job as mayor, as Frederictonians, as neighbours, as colleagues, to now embrace them and their families and provide all the support that we can.

“Keep in mind the civilian victims. Our love and support goes out to everybody. In this community, we grieve together, but we'll heal together as well.”

Premier Brian Gallant said all New Brunswickers were saddened by the deaths.

“Thinking of all members of the Fredericton police force; know that all New Brunswickers and Canadians mourn with you,” Gallant said.

The premier sent out a special salute to all first responders, calling them a special breed of people who put themselves in harm’s way to keep others safe..

Gaudet said it was an incredibly difficult day for the police force and the entire community.

“No one ever wants to lose a colleague or friend, especially in this kind of situation,” Gaudet said. “Our police oficers have conducted themselves in a professional manner and will continue to do so through the investigation. The investigation is continuing to determine exactly what happened.”

Sympathies poured in from other police forces throughout Atlantic Canada and across the country. At Halifax police headquarters, the flag flew at half-mast.

The investigation has been turned over to the RCMP. A Friday evening prayer vigil was planned for St. John the Evangelist Church in Fredericton.

The shooting brought back memories of a multiple shooting in Moncton on June 4, 2014, in which five RCMP officers were shot. Three officers were killed.

An overnight 28-hour manhunt ensued and Justin Bourque, 24, of Moncton, was arrested June 6.

A judge later found that the force failed to provide adequate equipment and training to the officers who responded to the shootings. The RCMP was fined $100,000 and ordered to donate $450,000 to educational programs, scholarships and other organizations.